FDLE stands for accreditation – Commission invites comments

Assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) will be visiting the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on March 19 – 22, 2018 to examine all aspects of the department’s policy and procedures, management, operations, and support services.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, United States law enforcement faced many large-scale civil disturbances. Many American cities experienced riots with significant loss of life and property damage. Many citizens lost confidence in their law enforcement agencies due to their seeming inability to prepare for and deal with these events. Law enforcement agencies were viewed as unable or unwilling to learn from others’ mistakes and as having little, if any, coordination between themselves and other agencies.

Sound familiar?

Law enforcement officers were often viewed as under-trained, and their selection and hiring practices often were discriminatory. Policies and procedures were often poorly written or sometimes, nonexistent, and many in the public did not respect law enforcement officers as professionals. Issues of accountability, integrity, liability, performance, and community partnership dominated the public dialogue and media coverage of law enforcement.

Today, voluntary standards to advance law enforcement professionalism are in place. In 1979, a private non-profit corporation, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., was created to implement an accreditation process that provides public safety agencies an opportunity to voluntarily demonstrate that they meet an established set of professional standards. Funding for the initiative was provided through a grant from the US Department of Justice.

The body of standards was designed to increase:

Public safety agency capabilities to maintain law and order;

Agency effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of public safety services;

Cooperation and coordination with other public safety agencies, and with other agencies in the criminal justice system; and

Citizen and employee confidence in the goals, objectives, policies, and practices of the agency.

As part of the assessments being conducted this week, agency personnel and members of the community are invited to offer comments. Comments are limited to 10 minutes and must address the FDLE’s ability to comply with CALEA’s standards.

In person: A public information session will be held on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. The session will be conducted at FDLE headquarters, 2331 Phillips Road, Tallahassee, Florida.

Written: Written comments can be made to: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., 13575 Heathcote Blvd, Suite 320, Gainesville, Virginia, 20155 or www.calea.org.

FDLE must comply with 484 standards to maintain accredited status. Since becoming accredited in 1990, the department has undergone rigorous inspections to ensure compliance with national standards for police agencies. This process provides confidence for department management and the public that FDLE achieves and maintains high standards.

FDLE’s CALEA program manager is Vincent Dauro. The assessors are Team Leader Major William David Munday (Ret.), North Carolina State Highway Patrol and Virginia State Police Captain Caren Sterling.

Once the assessors complete their review, they report back to the full Commission, which determines accreditation for a three-year period.